In the very early morning, at the place in her mother's book where she had found the map, Helen left a note of thank you. Then she shouldered her totebag, opened the window, and stepped out into the chilly autumn air.

Sitting at the Anyaclaver watch monitor, where she was stationed that morning, without pressing the alert button, which she was supposed to do when anyone left Anyaclaver without prior notification, Brinn watched Helen open the back gate, pass silently through the force field and walk onto the trail that led eventually to The Lake.